Among both hunters and amateur naturalists, the squirrels
(family Sciuridae) make up one of the most popular groups
of wild creatures on this continent. These little animals
are highly adaptable, and most species have proven able to
survive, and even thrive, in areas where human destruction
of habitat has long since eliminated less opportunistic
mammals. They can be seen dancing limb to limb in city
parks and on wilderness hillsides from coast to coast,
and-being a very diverse bunch include not only the
tree squirrels, but also such seemingly dissimilar
animals as chipmunks, woodchucks, flying squirrels, prairie
dogs, marmots, and ground squirrels.

Still, to most of us, squirrel means one of the
bushy-tailed tree dwellers. (In fact, the family name
translates as "shade tail," a reference to the arboreal
species' habit of curling their tails over their backs.)
These are the squirrels most commonly admired by students
of nature and most often transformed into tasty meals by
hunters.

Whether your chosen activity is observation or pursuit,
your success and satisfaction will be increased if you take
the time to learn about your quarry through this field guide to the tree squirrel. So, to add to the fun
you'll find in squirrel watching or hunting, we've prepared
the following guide to the more common tree squirrels of
North America.

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Share your thoughts.

Karen Lunardi

7/17/2009 3:44:25 PM

Can anyone helkp me? This a.m. a squirrel came to the feeder that I have never seen before. He has a rather thin tail with a pom-pom on the end! I can't find anything about this type of squirrel. Does anyone know anything about it?

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